Report from Synod, March 2013

       I had been looking forward to this Synod.  Admittedly it meant a very early start on a Saturday morning (which is just not done in my world), but we were going to stop over and go to Church on Sunday morning too.  We were able to get there in plenty of time and even managed to drag ourselves away from the pub in time to greet everyone in the hall before lunch.  As always, it was really nice to see people again that we hadn’t seen for a few months.  After stuffing ourselves with baked potatoes and salad, it was time to move into the church for Synod.
       After the usual hymn, prayer and reading (by Dad), we finally got underway with lots of apologies.  The declaration of attendance was given as 8 clergy and 23 lay members; 6 visitors were also listening in.
       Following the minutes, the matters arising included an update on the clergy benevolent fund, which is in a bit of a pickle in the state it’s in with not enough money being paid in, and the charity registration for the Southern Diocese.  I, being the well organised person that I am, actually had a bunch of forms ready to hand out to gather Trustee information.  The registration process is now well in hand!
       We moved on to the Bishop’s report, which as always was quite lengthy due to the amount of work our Bishop gets done!  Some of the information had been in Paul’s report at our AOCM, including Paul’s 60th birthday.  He also said that a service had been prepared for the 150th Anniversary of the FCE Constitution, which would hopefully be held in all churches on the closest Sunday to the anniversary – 23 June.
       Other points covered included the Southern Diocese Conference, where we had welcomed Bishops Roald Flemstad and Gerhard Meyer as visitors.  The new venue for next year’s conference is to be High Leigh, where we will be holding a family conference for the first time.  Paul also mentioned his trip to Lambeth Palace for Evensong.  Also of note is the recognition of the FCE orders by the CofE, something that has taken many years to bring into effect, and couldn’t have been better timed.  Paul was looking forward to his trip to Canterbury Cathedral for the Enthronement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury.  He also mentioned our forthcoming trip to the English Camp in Germany.  I’m looking forward to that!
       After that and a vote of thanks, we moved onto the Treasurer’s report, which was pretty straightforward until we hit quotas.  They need to go up, and after Paul said he would reduce his honorarium by half, the numbers needed to be re-jigged to work out what we all need to pay. 
       John then gave us a brief report on the Clergy Conference, which had been very good and had included some open and frank discussions.  All of the people there had enjoyed the fellowship, which had made the whole thing worthwhile.  Ministers were encouraged to attend in future for this reason.
       Moving on, we again touched on the recognition of the FCE orders, and it was also mentioned that we are having conversations with several Denominations around the world, most notably in Brazil and Norway.  Bishop Primus had prepared a fact sheet covering these conversations, and this is available for perusal if required.  These are exciting developments!
       This then lead to the election of Officers, where only two changes were made.  John has been elected Home Mission Fund Secretary, and I somehow landed the job of News Sheet Editor.  Any items to be included will be gratefully received!
       It was then time for the roundup of news from the churches; the most notable news being that Bishop Ken is retiring from leading the Emmanuel as of Easter Sunday.  After 64 years of service, I am sure he has earned his rest!  Daniel will be filling in during the interregnum.  Our other churches are ticking over nicely, with Russell Fenn settling in at Exmouth, and Gerald Kirsch continuing his work in Shoreham.
       We had finally made it to Any Other Business, and application forms for High Leigh and Germany were handed out.  I’m thinking of putting Bishop Paul and Bishop Gerhard as referees on my form for Germany.  The next Synod meeting will be at High Leigh, on Monday October 28th.
       We then had a short break for tea and cake, but I was busy chasing after Charity Commission forms so didn’t get either!  However, we went straight into a short memorial service for Revd Arthur Fryer, who had been a valued servant for the FCE and will be sadly missed.
       After chasing more forms and finally getting my cup of tea, it was time to leave and we went to the pub to watch the rugby.  We had run on so long that I had missed the first half.  As it happens, that wasn’t actually a bad thing and we need say no more about the rugby!
       We wended our way to our accommodation for the night, which was a pleasantly furnished 3-bed room, attached to a 500 year old inn.  We were well impressed, and my steak and ale pie was one of the best I have ever eaten.  It was just a shame Mom’s sherry was so syrupy, but me and Dad enjoyed our Scotch.
       We were up bright and early the next morning to go to church at Exmouth, which happened to include Paul doing the sermon and leading ‘breaking bread’, which he did have to break.  It was a somewhat different service to what we are used to, especially being two hours long, but we adapted, and it certainly seemed popular.  It was nice to see Paul change into his posh frock for the Holy Communion part.
       On our way home, we stopped off to visit A la Ronde, which Mom had always wanted to see.  It was a very unusual hexadecagon house with some lovely views and interesting dress-up options.  We then finally made our tired way home, having thoroughly enjoyed our time in Exmouth.

Report from Synod, October 2012

       The October Synod was this year held for probably the last time at Sunbury Court; it is closed for refurbishment for 2013, and will likely be too expensive when it reopens.  We’d best make the most of it then!
       I arrived just in time for lunch, which was good, and a cup of tea, which was better, and then off to the meeting we went.  Fortunately, Paul hadn’t been delayed overly by his puncture so we started pretty much on time.  We started with the usual hymn, prayer and reading, which was Psalm 98, and read by me!  We also remembered Mary Harris and her family, as John Harris’ funeral would be the next day.

      After the several apologies, the declaration of attendance was given as 8 clergy and 18 lay members.  The minutes were read and accepted and there were only a couple of matters arising – relating to the Clergy Benevolent Fund, and the Charity Registration, for which all bar one churches were now registered, leaving only the Southern Diocese itself.  I’ll do it as soon as I get the papers…
       We then discussed the 150th Anniversary Celebrations, which unfortunately seemed to be flogging a dead horse.  There was little enthusiasm from the North and not much more in the South, although the main reason for this could well be the aging congregations – we are all 20 years older than the last celebration and a lot of us can no longer do what we once did.  Although a motion to arrange something was passed, with only 7 votes for and more abstentions there seemed little point.  Paul eventually proposed we have a think during the remainder of the Conference, as this event should be celebrated!
       We then moved onto the Bishop’s Report, which, due to a busy year was quite lengthy, but I was still able to take full notes.  In the first paragraph…  Nah, scrap that...  Two highlights that stood out were Paul attending the 350th Anniversary Celebration of the Book of Common Prayer at St Paul’s Cathedral and sitting a few feet away from Prince Charles, and also the news that Revd Gerald Kirsch would be opening a new church in Shoreham-on-Sea, the last new church being St Andrews in 1943.
       Moving onto the Southern Diocese Day of Prayer, and this will be held on Saturday 16 February 2013 at the Emmanuel, Birmingham, Harlesden and Exeter.
       There followed the reports from around the churches, which again was an interesting insight into what everyone else gets up to.  It appears everything is toddling along with all churches having something of interest to report.
       The Treasurer’s report was received, noting we would have a balance of about £2,000 lower than this time last year, which wasn’t all that surprising.  The Stipend Fund and Home Mission Fund reports were not received, as Ron Reynolds was recovering from a double heart valve operation, which had gone well.  The prayer chain link was working well.
       We were then treated to a report by Lewis, from St Andrews, on his trip to Bishop Gerhard Meyer’s English Camp in Germany.  It sounded like he had a very good time, even if he did lose his shoes on a canoe trip.
       The next meeting is to be held at Exmouth on Saturday 16 March 2013, starting at 2pm, with lunch at 1pm.  The meeting was closed at 3:04pm, and that was then end of my 4th Synod, but not the end of my trip! 
      For the first time, I was staying on for the full Conference, lasting a further 3 days.  After drinking more tea and kicking our heels for a few hours, we got underway with a special meal celebrating Paul’s 60th birthday.  Again. 

The boat was pushed out a long way, as we had prawn cocktail, roast duck, and the most enormous pineapple sundae for pudding.  It was a marathon to get through and I was shivering by the end. 

There was also another brilliant birthday cake.
       There followed more tea and fellowship in the lounge.  Most of us then went off for an early night, and after that sundae I was glad I had moved out of my original room, which had no heating, and into the main house.  I now had a sauna, but Eric was happy.
       Over the next three days, we were treated to various talks, including two on the Epistle of James by Gerald Kirsch, and two on Mission, Community & Devotion from Russell Fenn.  For once, I got up in time for the morning devotionals, and I was glad I had otherwise I would have missed the sight of Robert Wilson stripping off his cassock and finishing his sermon in a rather fetching bright blue tracksuit.
       We were also lucky to enjoy another concert by Malted Light, which this time included their Metallica melody.  Another highlight was our trip to the Brooklands Museum, where I got to drive an F1 car and also took a trip on Concorde.  Dashing through the sudden downpour for the bus didn’t dampen our spirits and I also took what I thought

was the best photo of the week – Paul going up the steps to get on the Concorde.
       Our final evening was due to be Gerhard giving us a talk and slide show about his English Camp in Germany.  There was however a slight technical hitch, in that one laptop connected to the internet but not the projector, another connected to the internet and the projector but wouldn’t download the slides, and another connected to the projector but refused to admit to the possibility of a Wi-Fi connection.  I ended up standing at the front holding up my laptop so everyone could see the slides.  Alas, I have no idea what Gerhard had been saying as I had been trying to sort out the laptops…
       On the final day, amongst other things, we discussed plans for next year’s Conference.  Paul spoke about his idea of making the conference open to everyone, including children, and arranging activities for them, running alongside the usual adult activities.  This idea was met with a lot of enthusiasm and on further discussion, Paul came up with the excellent idea of making the 150th Anniversary Celebration part of the conference.  This motion was passed with flying colours.
       Following Holy Communion and lunch, it was time to go home.  I was a bit sad to go as it had been a very enjoyable week, as had been the fellowship.  I’m looking forward to next year!

Report from Convocation 2012

       After all the years of Convocation being at Swanwick, we finally had success.  We were able to stop off on the way for a picnic lunch!  After a quiet sandwich and bottle of wine, we arrived at the 148th Annual Convocation of the Free Church of England, in time to say a few hellos, sign in and find a seat.
       We made a start on business at 2pm by welcoming new people and Bishop Royal Grote, visiting from the REC.  The registrar made the head counting less tedious, when he said ‘here’ himself after calling names.  This year there were 38 lay members and 17 ministers in attendance.
       It was then time to elect a General Secretary for the coming year.  Dad nominated Paul and as no one thought anyone else was good enough, he was elected unanimously.
There followed the usual things we have to do – letters, memorials (which included standing for a minute’s silence), more letters, and a response from the Presiding Bishop of the REC.  It’s nice that our relationship with the REC has developed in recent years.  After the standard work, we whizzed through the reports so fast I thought we’d finish business by the end of the first day.

       Afternoon break came, along with time to move into our rooms.  I had a twin so Eric could have had his own bed if he wanted.  He didn’t though.  After grabbing a cup of tea and a slice of cake, we went and sat in the sunshine for a bit (we as in people, not Eric; he stayed in his room).
       When we got back into the hall, it was Dad’s turn for centre stage.  He started by saying this would be the worst report he has had to present in all his years as treasurer.  The investment income was still dropping and the quota had been £600 for four years.  It would have to go up.  There was a deficit of £5000, which could be recovered by increasing the quota to just over £900.  Dad didn’t want to do that.  He suggested setting the quota at £750, then appealed for donations to the General Fund to cover the difference.  He had confidence that £2000 would be raised and set the ball rolling with a £250 donation.  The accounts were accepted and all were in favour of increasing the quota to £750.
       That finished business for the day and there was time for a break before going into dinner.  By break, I mean popping into Mom and Dad’s room with an empty glass…  After a tasty lasagne and chips, it was time for Evening Prayer and the Convocation Charge, given by the Bishop Primus.  Bishop John spoke on 2 Timothy 4:1-5, which once again seemed a very apt passage:  “They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
       It was finally time for the bar, where the best part is not the beer but catching up with people and having long discussions you wouldn’t otherwise have (like, for example, talking to a bunch of Cannons from the Church of England).  This time, Dad and I spent a while talking to Bishop Roy about his work for the REC.  It was fascinating hearing about all the churches he has helped plant, and the growth of his Diocese.
       The next day, business started with the election of officers.  Most of them were the same as last year, except with John Leal leaving and Norma and Marlene stepping down, there were two vacancies.  I was pleased to be elected as Webmaster, although we weren’t sure if that should be Web Mistress, and the nutcase who agreed to take on the Convocation Organiser role was, me. 
       We moved onto the motions, starting with second year approval to some cannons, and we then considered the last lot of Cannons to be reviewed.  Hooray!  Those changes were approved.
       After a tea break, we elected the Bishop Primus, who is once again Bishop John McClean. 
       Back to the motions and the most difficult of them all – a statement setting out a scripturally based definition of marriage and confirming the FCE does not consent to any of its premises being used, or clergy taking part in, the registration or blessing of same-sex unions.  After a lengthy discussion the motion was passed with 20 votes for, but there were 29 abstentions.  The final motion was to write to the Government in protest against its current review to redefine marriage.  This one was passed with 54 votes for.
       The hard work done, we thought about next year being the 150th anniversary.  A celebratory event would need planning!  We agreed the venue could be Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  The Primus and Secretary were to appoint a small committee to organise this event.
       We had got to the dates of the next meetings on day two!  Next year’s Convocation would be at The Hayes, on 20-22 May.  After a short break, we gathered for another important Convocation moment – the annual photo call. 

Paul got bombarded with cameras and I got a lovely purple photo of the inside of Paul’s shirt pocket.  Luckily, that was after he had taken a nice photo of the group, with Eric and Erica sat proudly on the Denomination flag.
       That left us with an afternoon off to enjoy the sunshine.  I spent part of it learning what was involved in organising Convocation, and then I ended up playing croquet on one of the lawns.  I’d never played it before and I didn’t do too badly, but I did come to the conclusion it was a bit of a fiendish game.
       After dinner we had an impromptu entertainment show.  Some of us told those present what we were grateful for and picked a hymn.  I was grateful for getting my voice back in time for Convocation so that I would be able to properly socialise with people, which is, I think, just as important as the work part.  Naturally, there followed another evening chatting in the bar and we were lucky to be allowed to gate-crash a birthday party!  It was sadly lacking in Scotch though.
       Day three was a nice easy day.  We went through the minutes, then costs of Convocation which were down on last year.  Dad was also happy to announce that donations to the General Fund had been rolling in and so far amounted to £1,360.
       There followed the usual thanks and presentations, including thanks to Bishop Grote for his visit and giving the Convocation Sermon at Holy Communion, and gifts for Norma and Marlene as it was their last year as organisers.  To my surprise they also had a gift for me, which included painkillers for the headaches, a bottle of wine to drown my sorrows, and an eye mask for much needed rest.  Convocation business was concluded at 12:05pm.
       It was another lovely sunny afternoon, so I sat in the garden with Lesley, going through the editing of the draft yearbook.  That took a while.  Then it was time to leave what had been another successful and enjoyable Convocation.  I was a little sad to go…

Report from Synod, March 2012

       It may come as a surprise to hear that the March Synod this year was held at St Jude’s, Walsall!  Or maybe not…  It was nice to have a lie-in and still get there early.
       I arrived in time to help finish setting everything out and welcome our visitors.  Then, after dishing out portions of lasagne I got to sit down to my own plate.  Yummie!  It was a really nice start to the day.

       As a nice change, our meeting got underway with the trainee Readers leading the Family Service.  It was nice hearing ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’ sung in a nearly full church.  The business part started with Paul welcoming us to Synod.  A few apologies were received and then the declaration of attendance – 23 lay and 8 clergy.
       Next Dad gave a brief report on the Clergy Benevolent Fund, after stealing a moment to welcome everyone to St Jude’s.  Basically, it wouldn’t give much of a pension and he wanted to meet with the pension people, if they could work out the paperwork.  More work was needed.
       We moved on to discuss preparation for the 150th Anniversary next year.  John said that after looking for a venue for almost a year, he had finally come up with the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  It was a good place to start and between us we could arrange a really good day out.  It would need Convocation to formally appoint a committee to arrange everything.
       After a brief mention of the Charity registration needing to be completed by May, we moved onto the Bishop’s report.  There were many topics mentioned (too many for this brief report), in slightly more detail than Paul’s report at our Annual meeting.  What stood out for me was meeting again with our friends from the REC, both in America and Europe.  I look forward to seeing where our proposed work in Europe leads!
       We then turned to the finances.  Not surprisingly, after our ‘Jubilee’ year last year (did Colin get that in too early?), the funds were slightly lower.  The accounts were accepted and we then moved to setting the quota.  There was some discussion on this subject, as Colin was trying to make the quota fair, based on the members of each church.  It was agreed that the quota would be a base rate of £110, plus £4 per person.
       Following a brief report on the Stipend Fund, we moved onto electing officers.  No surprises there, as for the most part we elected the same people as last year.  Paul is once again Diocesan Bishop and there was a little excitement when electing a clergy council member as the first vote ended in a draw!
       It was then time to hear what had been happening in each of our churches.  It’s nice to hear what other people are getting up to.  We met the new minister for Exmouth and it look like he’ll fit in nicely.  There was also good news from Harlesdon, as after fearing they would have to close by Christmas due to a lack of finances, they received a bequest and were able to raise almost the same amount in addition.  Things are picking up!
       Any other business and the date of the next meeting meant that we had come to the end of this meeting.  We then went back to the hall for a well-deserved cup of tea and some sandwiches, some of which we were able to put into doggy bags to keep us going on the long journey home.